HALF MOON BAY, CALIF. • Mercedes-Benz calls the new SLS AMG sports car a “reinterpretation” of the automaker’s classic gullwing 300SL and SLR models from the 1950s. Some pundits call AMG’s (Mercedes’ performance division) first in-house designed and built two-seater a thumb of the nose at Mercedes’ partner McLaren, whose complex, doubly expensive SLR McLaren supercar failed to achieve the adulation and success expected of a flagship performance model. I, assuming the mantle of drooling, unabashed car geek, simply call the technically overloaded, 563-horsepower, 6.2-litre V8-powered SLS AMG coupe what it is — a winged weapon.

First, let me (or, more accurately, Mercedes) dazzle you with some key facts and numbers. The SLS AMG features an aluminum space-frame body (only 241 kilograms) with gullwing doors. The hand-built AMG 6.2L V8 — Mercedes insists on upsizing it to 6.3 litres even though its displacement is 6,208 cubic centimetres — is situated up front but behind the axle, underneath one very long hood (just less than two metres). The engine is essentially the same unit that’s in AMG cars now, but it has been further tweaked with an all-new intake system, reworked valvetrain and camshafts, more open tubular steel headers, dry sump lubrication (no oil pan), etc. The V8 thumps out 479 pound-feet of torque and is bolted to a seven-speed, dual-clutch, rear-mounted transaxle via a carbon-fibre driveshaft.

The double-wishbone sports suspension is also aluminum, helping to keep the SLS to a lean curb weight of 1,620 kg. Front/rear weight distribution is 47%/53%, which, along with the car’s low centre of gravity, hints at superlative handling characteristics. From a standstill, it will nail 100 kilometres an hour in 3.8 seconds, Mercedes says. Keep your right foot to the firewall and the speedometer needle will touch 317 km/h (electronically limited). A warning to well-heeled swells fortunate enough to put one of these sexy beasts in their garage: Your driver’s licence is in peril should you give in to temptation.

Along with the large grille and the side cooling gills — all designed to evoke memories of the 1952-’57 racing and production 300SLs — the most retro and distinctive aspect of the SLS AMG is, naturally, the gullwing doors. Unlike the 300SL of yesteryear, however, there is no uncomfortably wide sill to climb over. Just duck when you slide in — the distance between the open doors and the pavement is 1.5 m. It also helps to have long arms in order to pull the door closed. However, thanks to two gas struts positioned next to the door hinges, very little effort is required to actually shut it.

A quick scan of the cabin shows a clean, uncluttered interior that’s very focused on the business of going fast. The exception to the simplicity is the centre console, which has a bunch of buttons and controls, most of which have something to do with launching the SLS to warp speed or keeping it glued to the pavement. The five buttons beside the gear lever are engine start, transmission mode (the four driver-selectable modes are C for Controlled Efficiency, S for Sport, S+ for Sport plus and M for Manual, along with a Race Start function), stability control (ESP On, ESP Off and ESP Sport), rear spoiler (which will automatically extend above 120 km/h) and AMG (which allows you to record your lap times). Those familiar with Mercedes cars will recognize the silver hockey puck aft of the shift lever as the Comand control, which wrangles the various communication, entertainment and navigation functions.

Several hours spent heading across the Santa Cruz Mountains, through Silicon Valley and along Highway 101 to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca invoked huge grins and revealed one critical detail — the SLS AMG is no prima donna. When provoked, that big V8 will belt out a mechanical aria worthy of a heroic tenor, but just puttering along with the mouth breathers and their suddenly insignificant motorized appendages, the engine is throaty but quite respectful.

And, no matter the setting, the transmission pulls off precise upshifts and will blip the throttle — which coaxes a sharp bark from the tailpipes — when executing downshifts.

As much as the SLS’s sheer acceleration, the phenomenal grip from the P265/35R19 (front) and P295/30R20 (rear) Continental rubber will bring tears to more devoted motor heads. Following a couple of locals in a hurry on a twisty canyon road, I could let the engine compression brake and the tires do their stuck-like glue thing instead of having to touch the brake pedal. It was too much fun — literally — as the three of us were pulled over by a motorcycle cop. Looking properly chagrined, I got off with a warning.

But, at the undulating and challenging Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, I was hopelessly out of my depth, my recently acquired certificate from the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy about as useful as a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound. Yet, the SLS didn’t bare its fangs to take a bite out of my ass. Instead, it saved it at least once when I misjudged the second apex of a double-apex turn and swung wide toward the sand. A touch of countersteer and the car straightened out, eager to tackle the next corner. The fact it would hit 200-plus km/h in what seemed like the blink of an eye only reinforces my thought that the SLS AMG is a civilized race car. And, if its already superb performance capabilities aren’t enough — or you are actually thinking about hot-lapping it at the track — Mercedes will offer an AMG Competition Package. Upgrades include a performance suspension (tauter spring and damper tuning), carbon ceramic performance brakes, forged wheels and a performance steering wheel finished in Alcantara and leather.

At a time of political correctness in the automotive world with burgeoning ecologically friendly hybrids and electric vehicles, the SLS AMG (and Lexus LFA, Audi R8 V10, Porsche Panamera Turbo, et al) is a throwback to a time when horsepower ruled and what won on Sunday sold on Monday. That’s no longer the case, but a heartfelt thanks to Mercedes for believing such cars still matter.

The SLS is scheduled for launch in the spring. While the Canadian sales price has yet to be determined, the car will sell in Europe for 149,000 Euros ($233,440).